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Lot Essay
Wang Huaiqing's artistic achievements are unparalleled amongst Chinese artists. Rooted in Chinese classical art and culture, Wang's creative process has developed from figuration into abstraction, forming his personal aesthetic point of view through a rigorous dedication to the blending of the traditional and the contemporary. British art critic Mark Sullivan commended Wang, saying, "While Wang's style stemmed from Chinese culture, it is through his self-reflection on it in a critical moment in modern Chinese history that his creative power develops in this transient world". Buttered Lamp, produced in 1987 (Lot 124) comes from a US east coast private collection along with Wang Yidong's Tobacco Curing House (Lot 125). It is truly a hidden gem for the last 30 years and is a clear example of Wang's outstanding technique.
As an apprentice of Wu Guanzhong, an advocate of western contemporary realism, Wang was deeply influenced by Wu's pure structural elegance illustrated through detailed representation. From the mid-1980s onwards, black and white became the fundamental elements of Wang's works. Besides drawing influence from Western master Rembrandt's classical painting techniques and treatment of light, his style can also be traced back to the use of ink in traditional Chinese painting. It is through the blending of various textures with countless layers and overwhelming strength that the pure charm of the black paint is revealed. In Buttered Lamp, a girl in a Tibetan outfit stands in total darkness holding a porcelain bowl in her hands. A small but bright fire pierces the darkness and the richly textured brushstrokes, in a dramatic treatment of light. The lowered face of the girl is vividly illuminated. The painting portrays the gaze of time, the simplicity of space, manifesting the spirit of the abstract through figuration. The memory expressed in the layers of black brushstrokes brings out an inexplicable sadness, while the glow from the candlelight builds an internal tension. This deep and subtle work conveys a quiet sense of hope and strength.
As an apprentice of Wu Guanzhong, an advocate of western contemporary realism, Wang was deeply influenced by Wu's pure structural elegance illustrated through detailed representation. From the mid-1980s onwards, black and white became the fundamental elements of Wang's works. Besides drawing influence from Western master Rembrandt's classical painting techniques and treatment of light, his style can also be traced back to the use of ink in traditional Chinese painting. It is through the blending of various textures with countless layers and overwhelming strength that the pure charm of the black paint is revealed. In Buttered Lamp, a girl in a Tibetan outfit stands in total darkness holding a porcelain bowl in her hands. A small but bright fire pierces the darkness and the richly textured brushstrokes, in a dramatic treatment of light. The lowered face of the girl is vividly illuminated. The painting portrays the gaze of time, the simplicity of space, manifesting the spirit of the abstract through figuration. The memory expressed in the layers of black brushstrokes brings out an inexplicable sadness, while the glow from the candlelight builds an internal tension. This deep and subtle work conveys a quiet sense of hope and strength.